A Ugandan who has lived and worked in the U.S for 40 years is in advanced stages of establishing a multi million plant to process garlic and onions in the country for export.
Wilson Edward, 57, left Uganda when he was 17 years old and only returned to the country in September to establish business ventures. He has been living in California where he runs a similar food processing business under the brand name of California Sunset products.
In Uganda, he will operate through a brand name called Happy Farms, partnering with non profit making organizations such as World Vision and the International Rescue Committee to establish development projects in Busia, Tororo and Lira. The garlic and onion plants will employ up to 200 workers when it opens business by June 2011.
The first plant will be established in Tororo while the second in Majanji in Busia.
Edward was among members of the Ugandan Diaspora community who held a summit at Hotel Africana in Kampala this week to chat ways on how to participate in national development back home.
In an interview with Uganda Radio Network, Edward revealed that as part of his business research, he took various soil samples from Uganda to the USA for testing on viability for large scale farming. He said the soil types in Busia, Tororo and Lira were found excellent for growing garlic and onions.
The man who openly boasts of his love for fine food says that on top of contributing to the development of his country, he will also make a lot of money from the business. He says that the Ugandan garlic is of the best quality on the international market.
He says he will start by selling the Ugandan garlic to his own organization in the US while eventually targeting the bigger market in China, Brazil, the Middle East and South Africa.
In addition to the 200 directly employed as workers on the plants, thousands of farmers are likely to benefit from such a venture.
Garlic is a nutrition added to foods to improve aroma and taste. In countries like England it was used as a medicine while the Egyptians historically used it as both food and medicine for many years.
Garlic flourishes best in a rich, moist, sandy soil but is also said to do well in soils that may be loamy or clay.